Puma smashes sustainable material goal two years ahead of schedule.

“We still have room for improvement, which is why, we have taken steps with our suppliers to sharply increase the amount of more sustainable materials in our products going forward.”

German sportswear brand Puma has reached its ‘sustainable materials’ target two years earlier than anticipated. As a result of this, the company has announced an increase in the percentage of sustainable materials it aims to utilise in its product portfolio by 2020.

In 2015, Puma set a target to make sure that 50% of all cotton, polyester, leather, and cardboard used in its products came from sustainable sources by 2020. It reached this target in 2018. Puma is now aiming for 90% of its main fibres to be sourced this way.

“We are proud that we have reached our targets for more sustainable materials two years earlier than planned,” said Stefan Seidel, Head of Corporate Sustainability at Puma (@PUMA). “We still have room for improvement, which is why, we have taken steps with our suppliers to sharply increase the amount of more sustainable materials in our products going forward.”

He added: “By focusing on Puma’s entire range, we can make a much larger positive impact and save a considerable amount of natural resources.”

At the end of 2018, 50 % of all cotton used in Puma’s apparel came from more sustainable sources.

At the end of 2018, 50 % of all cotton and 66 % of all polyester used in Puma’s apparel came from more sustainable sources, Puma said in a statement. Such sources include blue-sign certified polyester, a production standard which eliminates harmful chemicals from the production process and promotes resource efficiency, and cotton from the Better Cotton Initiative, an organisation seeking to improve the environmental, social and economic impact of cotton production.

In 2018, Puma also reached its target of sourcing 90% of its leather and paper/cardboard from more sustainable sources two years ahead of schedule, using FSC certified paper and cardboard as well as leather from tanneries with a medal rating of the Leather Working Group.

Through its 10FOR20 targets set in 2015, Puma aims to improve its sustainability performance in ten areas including the environment and the well-being of workers in the factories of its suppliers. At the end of 2018, the company said that it was on track with eight of the ten targets it had set.